CDC: New disease spread by common “lone star” ticks, which live throughout Florida

A tick species common to Florida may be behind the spread of a newly discovered disease named the Heartland virus, which has sickened at least eight people since 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday afternoon.

Called the lone star tick for the light brown dot that females carry on their back, the eight-legged bug is spread throughout the eastern United States, including Florida.

It favors second-growth woods, wherever deer and turkeys are found.

The tick’s stomping grounds stretch from the northern rim of Lake Okeechobee north, said University of Florida entomologist Phil Kaufman. It has been spotted, but not confirmed in Palm Beach County – “though in all likelihood it’s there,” he said.

The lone star tops the list of four most common ticks to bite humans in the state, he said. (Others are pickier eaters.)

The lone star was once considered a tick rooted in the southeastern U.S., but its habitat has been expanding north and west, reaching to Chicago and mid-Texas these days, Kaufman said.

The tick was already considered a disease-spreading pest, because it carried many pathogens, including ehrlichiosis, rickettsiosis, tularemia and protozoan infections, UF entomologists report.

According to the CDC, all of the patients sick with Heartland virus became ill between May and September.

Most of the patients became so severely ill that they required hospitalization. Most are middle aged white men who were working outside.

Seven of the patients lived in Missouri. One was from Tennessee. One of the patients, who had underlying illness, died, and it’s not known if the virus caused his death.

The discovery of this tick-borne disease is different because most tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, develop from a bacteria and can thus be treated with some success using antibiotics, Kaufman said.

“This is a virus. Just like the flu, it’s not going to react to antibiotics,” Kaufman said.

The new Heartland virus is what’s called a phlebovirus, the virus family responsible for an African scourge called Rift Valley Fever. Phleboviruses hadn’t been seen in the Western Hemisphere before.

The CDC has several studies underway now to see if other insects, such as mosquitos, can spread Heartland virus. There’s reason to watch: Other phleboviruses are spread by mosquitoes.

The CDC is also actively looking for cases in other states, the CDC said. The CDC is working to develop a diagnostic test that public health agencies could use to test for the disease.

There are no treatments or drugs for Heartland virus.

The CDC recommends that people avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter, and always use insect repellent when outdoors. They recommend using products with permethrin on clothing, and bathing or showering as soon as possible after coming indoors. Full-body tick checks after an outing are recommended.